


Commonwealth Sunbathing

by elfsong



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Non-Explicit Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-07-26 20:25:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7588822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfsong/pseuds/elfsong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sick from the harsh Commonwealth heat, Hancock nurses Nora back to health, helping her in any way he can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The midday heat of the Commonwealth felt like misery under Nora's heavy armor. The sun's hot rays shone on the metal plates of armor resting upon her shoulders enough to scorch the delicate skin it meant to protect.

  
Sweat trickled down from the top of her forehead, down her chin and dripped to her chest, continuing it's descent into her cleavage before she swiftly swiped it away. Her hair looked as though she'd just stepped out of a shower, wet and slicked back out of her face. Red tinted her cheeks and chest, a sunburn no doubt. Nora was thankful the rest of her body had been covered for this particular trip, even if she did feel like she was frying underneath it all.

  
Nora heard a chuckle from behind her, "Heh, if you weren't sure if you were thawed all the way out yet, I say there ain't no questionin' it now."

  
She turned her head to shoot the ghoul trudging behind her a menacing look. A dopey grin sat plastered across his face, one hand stuffed in a pocket and the other skillfully twirling his knife.

  
She turned back around, picking up the pace. She was nowhere in the mood for Hancock's snarky comments today. The heat was blazing. Before the war, she had never felt the heat like this, though she did have trees providing shade at every turn... Even her and Nate's trip to the Grand Canyon on their honeymoon during a heat advisory was nothing compared to this. She missed the old world. She missed air conditioning. She missed taking trips to public pools and lakes in the hot summer months. She missed _sunscreen_.

  
She glanced over her shoulder to peek at Hancock again, who's attention was on a pebble he was kicking around with each step. He seemed completely unaffected by this weather. She couldn't tell if he was even sweating. Did ghouls even sweat? Did he enjoy this heat thanks to the side effects of becoming a ghoul? Was he just used to it from growing up in it unlike herself? He caught her looking and grinned.

  
"Like what you see?" She deterred her gaze.

  
Nora and Hancock talked each other's heads off the first few weeks of traveling together. She learned more about him in those short weeks than she ever did in years married to Nate. That's one thing she immediately liked about Hancock--he wasn't afraid to talk. Nate had never been a chatterbox whereas she was. But this heat did not make her want to talk. If the heat did bother Hancock, he didn't show it outside his lack of conversation.

 

***

 

Hancock's hand slid comforting across Nora's back as she dry heaved painfully. They hadn't eaten since leaving at the crack of dawn that morning, setting out on a stupid quest to find some settler's daughter's dog that had gotten lost on this particularly deserted trail. The heat finally became too much and Nora stumbled over herself after a wave of dizziness hit and Hancock nearly tripped over the poor girl. When he knelt to ask what had happened she began vomiting. Even after her stomach purged itself of its contents it still insisted on keeping her at her knees, trying to rid whatever ailment she had until she was a shivering mess against the dry ground.

  
It hurt to watch her suffer like this. He could feel her diaphragm expand and contract violently as she tried to catch her breath. After a series of harsh coughs and gasps of air, she finally caught her breath enough to speak coherently.

  
"I think... I think I might have sun poisoning." Hancock immediately began working on the straps of her armor in an attempt to lighten the weight on her. He quickly tugged his coat off of himself and draped it over her, the cool velvet interior hopefully providing some measure of relief to her overheated body.

  
After a syringe of Med-X, Nora was brought back to her feet with the aid of Hancock's arm tucked under her shoulder and wrapped around her waist for support. The two pushed forward, desperately searching the bare landscape for shelter. Thankfully the sun was finally setting and the temperature dropped to a more comfortable level. After an exhausting hour, a small, unoccupied shack finally dazzled their eyes and Hancock tugged a tired Nora to it.

The shack had but a single room inside, a sink and crooked cabinets lined the right side and a stomach-churning mattress occupied the back left corner. _Better than_ _nothin'_. Hancock decided.

  
He dropped both their packs and Nora's armor to the dusty floor and closed the door behind them. Nora staggered to the mattress but stopped to crinkle her nose at it. Briefly laughing, Hancock dug around in Nora's pack and pulled out a thin blanket he knew she always kept with her and tossed it over the mattress before helping her sit down on it. He sat at the edge as Nora stretched out on it and he ran a hand over her forehead, trying to check her temperature the best he could through his toughened skin. She felt hot despite her shivering.

  
"I have a headache." Nora weakly informed him.

  
He smiled sympathetically and brushed his hand down to her red and swollen cheek. "Most people out here don't get sick from stayin' out in the sun for too long." He mused, rubbing soft circles against her cheek. "Why didn't ya say something sooner?"

  
Nora adverted her eyes. Somehow her cheeks tinted even darker despite her burned skin.

  
"Ohhh," Hancock cooed knowingly. "Embarrassed, huh? Hey, you ain't got nothin' to be embarrassed about around ol' Hancock."

  
Nora smiled sheepishly. "It didn't seem to be bothering you, so I didn't want to bring it up." She laughed dryly, clearly embarrassed at being figured out.

  
Hancock only patted her leg and smiled before getting up to search the cabinets. He tossed a couple of water bottles her way to which she chugged down immediately, desperate to soothe her dehydration.

  
Luckily, the cabinets were full of purified water, no doubt left behind from the last person who stayed and was kind enough to leave some supply for the next crew to wander in. Lucky for the.

  
While gathering all the water bottles together, Hancock heard her toss fitfully on the mattress behind him. "You okay si....ster...?" Momentary shock wafted through the ghouls thin frame at what met his eyes as he turned around. Nora had shrugged off both his jacket and her thin flannel and was working on the belt to her pants now.

  
Hancock could do nothing but gawk at the scene that unraveled itself before him. He could see the shine of sweat that coated her body that contradicted with her visible goosebumps and shivering. She finally won the battle with her belt and pulled it away quickly, going at her zipper and quickly kicked them off of herself. She sighed and glanced at Hancock before looking away, only for the realization to hit and cause her to lock eyes again with the ghoul standing across the room opposite to her.

  
He knew he must have looked dumbfounded standing there wide-eyed and mouth slacked open, gawking at her. Nora rubbed her arms up and down and tugged at her dirty grey tank top, a futile attempt at hiding her mostly clean light blue underwear. She looked anywhere but to him, cheeks blazing hot from more than just the sunburn.

  
"I-I hope you don't mind." She stumbled over her words, cursing herself for it. "It's just so _hot_."

  
"You're telling me." Hancock commented to himself quietly enough so she couldn't hear. He crossed the room to where she sat, both avoiding the other's eyes and sat the water on the mattress beside her. She mumbled a thank you and he nodded despite her looking away.

  
"I'm gonna go out for a smoke. Will you be okay?"

  
"I'm fine. I'm just sick. It'll pass." Nora assured him around the bore of her bottle.

  
With that, Hancock nodded and exited the shack, gently closing the door behind him and lighting up a cigarette. Enjoying the burn of it in the back of his throat longer than usual before exhaling the smoke, Hancock shuffled back and forth uncomfortably. _She's sick and burning up, that's all it is. She's your friend._ He chanted to himself. 

Hancock knew this particular night would be a long one...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is long overdue.

Hancock stood outside long enough for the evening dusk to turn to an empty night sky. He hadn't realized just how long he'd stood outside until he dug two withered fingers into his aged cigarette pack only to be greeted with empty space. He peeked inside the package and then to the ground to find a multitude of cigarette butts at his feet. He realized he had chain-smoked them away to ease his nerves until his near full pack was completely empty. With a soft crunch, he crumbled the package in his hand and tossed it to the ground before turning to grasp the rusted knob, turning it and pushing in.

Nora was hunched over, facing away from Hancock, expelling her stomach's contents once again. Hancock assumed she felt it coming this time around because she managed to find a small crate from one of the cabinets to prevent making a mess of the floor.

A twinge of guilt slowly seeped through Hancock. Although Nora assured him she was alright, he felt guilty for leaving her inside alone while she was so sick.

He had been so caught up in his own questions and doubts he hadn't even heard her hushed gags coming from inside the shack.

He watched Nora as she panted for air, sitting up straight and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"You alright, sister?" His question caught Nora off guard and she jumped with surprise, twisting around to face Hancock. He put his hands up almost defensively; trying to ease her down. He chuckled and marched to where she sat on the mattress. He grasped the small crate from on top the mattress, noting it's near clear contents and sat in away from the bed. He noticed Nora's sunburn had darkened. Stupidly, he touched it and Nora hissed, quickly pulling away from his touch and swatting his hand.

"Sorry," Hancock apologized. "How ya feelin'?"

"Better, surprisingly. I think I puked from drinking too much water that time." She smiled sheepishly.

"I ain't never heard of anyone puking from drinking too much water. You sure that wasn't vodka in those?" He joked, grabbing an empty bottle and taking a dramatic whiff from it. Nora laughed and punched him in the shoulder and then slapped his hat off his head, making Hancock join her in her laughter.

Their laughter died down soon and they were both left with big goofy smiles on their faces. Only when Hancock moved his hand to retrieve his tin of mentats from his pant pocket and accidentally brushed her bare leg with it did they both realized how close they were.

Excluding rushed moments of pushing clothes away to get to a wound, neither had ever seen the other in so little. Nora was certain this was the first time she'd ever seen him without his tricorn, recalling a time she witnessed the man sleep with the damn thing on. And without his heavy jacket holding it down, the thin material of his frilled shirt had the freedom to gap open against his chest wider than it normally would. She could see textured skin peeking from the shirt, and she used her peripheral vision to study the lines and creases of his chest.

Similarly, Hancock made glances down to Nora's thighs when he thought she wasn't looking. Unlike most of the women Hancock had encountered previously, Nora was soft. She had a prewar body; chubbier compared to wasteland women, a clean complexion under the scars she earned out here. She did not look sickly despite her current state. She had shapely legs and Hancock wanted nothing more than to grasp her thigh and revel in the soft smoothness of it. He refrained himself.

Hancock always thought those try-hard girls in the prewar magazines were a sight to behold, but they were nothing in comparison to Nora. She was the real deal. Neither makeup, strict diets nor corsets shaped her beauty like it did those pinup girls. Nora was all natural and it bewildered Hancock. What was the world thinking, putting those skimpy women in those magazines when such great specimen like Nora walking the earth?!

When Hancock finally lifted his gaze from her legs to her eyes, his blood ran cold. His eyes locked with Nora immediately; she had been watching him the entire time. _Shit._

Before Hancock could utter out any apologies, Nora broke her fixed stare on him and began wringing her tank top in her hands.

"I can put my pants back on if this is making you uncomfortable." She suggested without moving. The idea didn't sit well with Hancock. He really, really did not want to see those beautiful legs disappear back under unflattering jeans.

When Hancock didn't say anything, Nora took that as her cue to redress. She reached down to the foot of the mattress where she kicked her jeans off and grabbed them, shaking them out straight until Hancock grabbed her arm with more might than he had intended. When she turned her attention to the ghoul, she was met with a serious look on his face.

"If you're still hot, you ain't gotta put those back on. It doesn't make me uncomfortable." He assured her. "We just need you to get better." His expression softened to a smile. While he did want Nora to recover, he would be lying if he said there weren't darker motives behind his explanation.

Nora stared at her pants longer than Hancock would have liked, his heart pounded in his ears and he wondered if his suggestion had crossed some invisible line Nora had drawn out between the two fo them. Tension fell between them and Nora took an audible swallow and released the grip on her pants.

"Do we have any towels?" She swallowed again.

"Towels?"

"Mhmm." Nora nodded.

"Uh, I don't think so?" Hancock questioned more than answered. "I could rip a piece of my shirt off if ya need me to." Nora shook her head in response before grabbing a corner of her blanket and tearing it. Hancock blinked in surprise.

"Thought you liked that thing?"

"It's dry rotted."

"Makes two of us."

Nora shot him a devious look accompanied by a huge grin. She punched his shoulder playfully.

"You aren't dry rotted. But you are positively _rotten_ for saying that." She shoved him, laughing now.

Hancock loved the sound of her laughter. It was hearty, a laugh you knew was real and not a put-on to get through an uncomfortable situation. Nora wasn't afraid to laugh a real laugh. Hancock met lots of women in his travels who would put their fingers to their lips and chuckle out a few high-pitched _'tee hee-hee's_ ' to try to seem cute. What was cute was Nora's genuinely. Her eyes closed and she tilted her head back, mouth open in a wide grin as she laughed until she'd cry.

Hancock felt his heart swell. Nora was the most real person he'd ever met. Her cries of laughter finally died down, but her smile hadn't faltered in the slightest. She looked to him with a new sparkle in her eyes and pushed the old fabric from her blanket to his chest.

"Will you pour water on this for me?" She relaxed on the mattress. "and place it on my forehead?"

Hancock smiled. She was so fucking precious. "'course." He soaked the decaying fabric that was only in early stage of dry rot and rung it out before placing it gently across her warm forehead.

She sighed with relief as soon as the cool cloth hit her skin. There was something domestic in this act. A caring woman ailed by sunburn smiling up at him like he was God himself. Indeed, there was something blissfully homey about caring for a woman who has never ask you for anything but your company and Hancock never wanted it to end.

Rubbing the cloth across her forehead and down to her burnt cheeks, Hancock realized that for the first time in his life, he didn't want to run. Nora never made him feel suffocated, but she did make him feel breathless.

"Hancock..." Nora wore a look of worry.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to do something. If you're not okay with it, let me know."

He ceases his actions at once and frowned. As soon as he nodded, Nora sat up in an instant and Hancock jerked backward to avoid a possible collision. As it turned out, there was absolutely no reason to avoid one because she moved right along with him until her soft arms encased him and before he had time to process what was going on, her soft lips closed over his thin ones.

She pressed against his lips firmly, and after a full minute without a response she pulled away, looking defeated.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, looking up through her eyelashes at a near-dazed Hancock.

All it took was Nora's regretful apology to shake Hancock and force him to compose himself. He felt short of breath, his heart hammered against his ribcage so hard he feared the bones would crack.

"Don't be sorry." Hancock encouraged. She smiled sheepishly.

"Here." She handed him the cloth he'd dropped when she pounced him just moments earlier. He took it with a bashful smile. Damn, this woman made him feel like a teenager again.

Hancock resumed his previous task as if nothing happened.

When the cloth became warm, Hancock re-wet it, wringing it out again brushed it against Nora's burnt shoulder. She had obvious blisters from the heated metal from earlier and she gasped when Hancock pushed the cloth against her.

"You alright?"

"Yes. Just one of those things you don't realize hurts until you feel relief from it, haha."

Hancock nodded. He worked both of her shoulders, enjoying watching her face melt in bliss. He urged her to roll onto her stomach so he could get to the back of her neck and shoulders and she obliged happily. The sun damage was nowhere close to as bad here as it was her face and the top of her shoulders, but it was still obvious the way tanned skin turned red and tense. Hancock couldn't deny there may have been other motives to getting Nora on her stomach, her eyes forced away from him. He unashamedly let his own eyes roam down her back to her plump behind covered only by the thin fabric of her panties, still fairly clean from her Pre-War days.

He could so easily ghost his hand across her ass right now, tell her it was all an accident. Hell, she would probably believe him. She thought too highly of him for whatever reason.

" _Mmm_." the sound Nora made as he dragged the cool cloth across a particularly delicate spot was like music to his ears. He'd give anything just to feel that sound warm against his ear...

He noticed his trousers had become tight right as Nora began tugging at the neck of her tank top. She kept pulling at the fabric until her back was completely exposed.

She was trying to kill him. No doubt about it.

"Rub my back please?"

"I get the feelin' you ain't sick anymore." He nearly growled. Nora scoffed.

But just like the little obedient pup Nora had shaped him into, he did exactly as he was told, dragging the cloth in circles up and down her back, leaving crisp spots od moisture in its wake that damn well glistened against her perfect skin.

The soft sighs and mews Nora was making nearly pushed Hancock overboard. There was no way she was being this sexy by accident. She knew that she was riling him up. _Tease._

Now began a torturous battle inside himself. Does he keep this as modest as he can despite the painful cutting the seam of his pants was causing against his straining erection? Or does he jump her right now? She'd kissed him after all, maybe that's what she was waiting for. No, he'd wait for her invitation...even if that meant insisting on one.

He began sliding down her spin with the cloth in hand, going lower and lower until he felt her tense once he found the dip of her lower back. She did not protest. _So far so good._

With a newfound confidence, Hancock moved the cloth from her back to the back of her knee and skimmed it up her leg until he came to the swell of her ass. Heart in his throat, he abandoned the cloth and slipped his hand in between her legs and felt the heat radiating from her. She stiffened up.

"Whoops," He chuckled. "Cloth got away from me..." he lied.

She knew he lied, and he watched as the goosebumps popped up on the flesh of her ass. _Cute_. She still hadn't protested his proximity, but being a gentleman, Hancock patiently waited for her consent.

"Hancock..." her voiced shook, and he faltered. Had he gone too far? He said nothing, only waited for her to continue.

She lifted herself up onto her elbows and rolled over to face him, involuntarily pushing against Hancock's hand in the process. Both stiffened at the contact. If evidence hadn't pointed it otherwise, the two could easily have been mistaken for eager yet nervous virgins. Clammy hands, pounding hearts, heavy breathing. They were smitten.

"I want to be more than friends!" Nora bellowed the declaration out loud and quick.

Hancock smiled. "Yeah, think I caught that when ya kissed me."

"Well... How do you feel about me?"

Hancock wondered about it. He did have a crush on her, but not in a million years would he have thought her feelings would be anything but unrequited. Felt good to be wrong.

"Wouldn't expect that kind of lapse in judgment from you. But I guess that works out for me then, doesn't it?" He laughed. Nora smiled.

"So you're saying... you like me too?" Hancock nodded and Nora outstretched her arms, beckoning for him to come down to her. He obliged and she kissed him. It felt so good to be kissed by someone who meant it, and so this time, Hancock kissed back.

The feeling of Hancock's lips working against hers was something new to behold. They weren't leathery or scratchy like she had so many times imagined. Instead, they felt warm and soft like anyone else's would be, only they felt chapped. Sure, there wasn't as much lip there as would be customary with a human, but Nora found she didn't mind, especially not with the way he kissed her with them. 

His hands were pushed into the mattress on either side of Nora's body to keep his weight off of her, and as the kiss progressed he slumped over to the side, still half laying on her and relaxed. One hand came to stroke her hair while the other tentatively slid up and down her body. Nora shivered. She felt a _swoosh_ feeling in the pit of her stomach she recognized from when she was a child, swinging high on a swing set or riding over hills in a wagon. Only this time the feeling lasted longer than a moment. She felt heat pooling in her lower regions and it excited her. She hadn't felt this way in a very, very long time.

Hancock drew his hand to Nora's chin, thumb urging her to turn away so he could lick at the shell of her ear. She shuddered at the sensation and Hancock was beside himself with glee.

With a splurge of determination edging him on, Hancock released his hold on her chin and pushed his hand down into her panties, _finally_ feeling that sweet heat between her legs. With a gasp, she grasped his arm firmly. When she faced him again he kissed her nose.

He decided long ago in his fantasies that if he ever got a chance with Nora, he would show her the utmost respect she deserved and show her that this world still had love to offer.

Her gasps were soft, almost as if she was letting him in on a little-known secret of hers and she did not want eavesdroppers to hear. Her hot breath felt unbearable against his neck. This was heaven. A dream come true.

They slipped through the night quietly. Half clothed and breath heavy with lust.

She fell asleep soon after. No wonder, the poor woman had been so exhausted already; it almost made Hancock regret going to bed with her. But with the way she curled against him in slumber, hair distressed and lips tinted red to match the rest of her but not from sunburn, he could not help but be positively pleased with himself. For some reason, she gave herself to him. She trusted him in the most intimate of ways and he thanked his lucky stars for it.

Hancock barely slept during the night. When morning came and she began to stir awake, he brushed the hair from her face.

"Morning, Sunshine."

"Morning." She peeked at him through long lashes and smiled.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better." She sat up to rub her shoulder and winced. "This sunburns not much better, though. It will need a few days out of the sun to heal." She sighed. "We should get going."

Hancock hummed, contemplating that like it was an option. He unenthusiastically got himself up to readjust his clothing and adorned his hat. Nora  made haste to retrieve her forgotten articles of clothing and shrugged them on. She readied their packs while Hancock lazily pulled on his boots. As Nora checked over the packs  a third time to assure all was in place, she felt cool fabric hit her bare shoulders. When the red color came into sight there was no question whose it was and she could not help the smile that tugged at her lips.

"For your sunburn."

"Thank you." 

"C'mon, love. Let's get this freakshow on the road."


End file.
